May 2020 Mission Newsletter

Gospel Hope Centre ... from the 4th May we were able to open the Centre by appointment only  for the purpose of sorting & giving away the summer clothes.    Deane has also been able to meet some of his regular men over the past 2 weeks for discipleship & encouragement. POST COVID-19 .. Dont want to say too much on this subject as Im sure many of you are tired of hearing about it ... Monday 4th May saw some progress in lifting lockdown slowly here in Sicily, we were allowed to go out for exercise! Monday 18th May more lifting of lockdown and then we were allowed outside, to the beach , on the motorbike, out & about .... as long as we maintain the social distance and wear masks.  The mayor even said he was disappointed not enough people were wearing masks and they are going to start giving out fines to people NOT wearing masks!   After 12 weeks of the Centre being closed and us being able to run the ministry from our home we have made the decision not to renew the building lease in June 2020. When we consider the high monthly rent, another 1 year contract seems a long time with future uncertainties &  restrictions for gatherings around the COVID-19 pandemic.   There is also the fact that many of our regular refugees are desperately needing to find any kind of work to pay the bills and survive, so they will not be available as often. We will continue foodbags in the same way we did over the lockdown period, from the "home pantry". This will enable us to help feed many more people and for Deane to meet many more people doing "street evangelism".    We can meet our refugee/migrant friends more on a one on one basis at a cafe and have more flexibility.

My name is Juliet, I am from Kano state Nigeria from a family of 8 children.  I am the first daughter of my family.  I left Nigeria when I was 22 because my family was in a big mess of hunger.   A woman from my villager told my mum she’s going to help us by taking me to work with her in her restaurant in Libya so I can be able to help my family .   I never knew that she was lying to me and my mum.  Then when we got to Libya she started forcing me into prositution and I refused.  She sold me out to another woman without my notice, I never knew what was going on until one date the woman she told me to come to take me to stay with her in another area of Tripoli in  Libya.  I was like asking why she brought me to this new place, then she told me that the woman who brought me from Nigeria had sold me to her. Since that day my life never remained the same again.   I took the opportunity to run from the house to the street where I found some help from a Ghana woman that rescued me with accomodation for some time before I decided to move on with my life.   Leaving my family was the greatest mistake I have done in my life. Then another person helped me crossing the mediterraean sea from Libya to Italy and also wanted to prostitute me but thanks to God almighty he sent me a man (Richard who is now my husband & father of my baby) to help me to overcome the temptations. I was passing true at that time, thanks to God but I still miss my family because this is not how I expected to grow up in life. I now live in Palermo with my husband Richard and daughter Devine who is 2, it is very difficult, we have documents but no work, food and money for rent is little, it is not easy, it is hard life. Food bags from the home office   Lots of needs, lots of families with babies .... no work and no income for 12 weeks and many refugee/migrant families are contacting for food, help with rent & power but we dont give money.  Many families cant feed their children.  Every week our regulars are introducing us to their friends for help with food also. One bag of groceries lasts two people a week. 1 bag of Groceries €10 = nz$20 1 bag of babyfood & toiletries for a week €15 = nz$30   please email us for details  -  graingers5@gmail.com   Some of the young families we are meeting & feeding regularly Organised crime groups offer support to quarantined families Mafia distributes food to Italy's struggling residents As Italy struggles to pull its economy through the coronavirus crisis, the Mafia is gaining local support by distributing free food to poor families in quarantine who have run out of cash, authorities have warned. In recent weeks, videos have surfaced of known Mafia gangs delivering essential goods to Italians hit hard by the coronavirus emergency across the poorest southern regions of Campania, Calabria, Sicily and Puglia, as tensions rise across the country. The government is issuing so-called shopping vouchers to support people. If the state doesn’t step in soon to help these families, the mafia will provide its services, imposing their control over people’s lives.” The ramifications of the lockdown in Italy are affecting the estimated 3.3 million people in Italy who work off the books. Of those, more than 1 million live in the south.There have been reports of small shop owners being pressured to give food for free, while police are patrolling supermarkets in some areas to stop thefts.  From the first signals of mounting social unrest, the Italian minister of the interior, Luciana Lamorgese, said ‘‘the mafia could take advantage of the rising poverty, swooping in to recruit people to its organisation’’. Or simply stepping in to distribute free food parcels of pasta, water, flour and milk. In Palermo, allegedly distributed food to the poor in the Zen neighbourhood, an area with an established mafia presence. When the news broke, the man defended himself on Facebook, claiming that he was only doing charitable work and attacking the journalist who first reported the news. The question of distributing food parcels is a tactic as old as the mafia itself, where in the south of Italy bosses have customarily presented themselves to the people as benefactors and local power brokers, initially without asking for anything in return. Supporting local business - Great to have our favourite PIZZA again!

ITALIAN LANGUAGE LEARNING School reopens in September, in the meantime we have received our Italian language exercise books. They are still sitting in the office unopened! Its great to be out & about tho - we are getting lots of practice speaking Italian.  People are very patient now, I think they are enjoying talking to someone, even if its "little Italian" after being stuck inside with no one to talk to for 56 days!!   We too are enjoying having differnet people to talk to!

Thankful for:- Safety and good health Surviving extreme lockdown restrictions for 56 days New refugee contacts met over the last month because of their great needs Ali the lawyer that completed all the Italian visa documents for us for free! Visit to Bubba at a mens camp on outskirts of Palmero Good conversations between Deane & many of his social media contacts Please pray for:- Patrick, Kojo & Veronica who are interested in learning more about Jesus. Regular Gospel Hope refugees that are in desperate situations because of no work for 3 months. 4 young men that are meeting for discipleship with Deane each week Conversations & relationship building between us and our regular refugee friends. Weekly connections with refugees from all over the world with bible verses, messages and encouragement sent via Social Media  Friends that have lost loved ones recently to Cancer and COVID-19  Our Italian permisso surjounro (permit to stay) is issued in time for us to travel to Sweden in August to meet our new grandson (to be born in July) if travel is possible across some of the borders. Follow GOSPEL HOPE MINISTRY https://www.facebook.com/Gospel-Hope-350731998928916/ Email Us Blog Support Facebook